


We Laughed At Fate And Mourned Her

by impossiblesongs



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, from Asgard to the Library
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-04
Updated: 2014-05-04
Packaged: 2018-01-21 21:22:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1564541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/impossiblesongs/pseuds/impossiblesongs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Asgard hadn’t been their only meeting prior the Library. There had been other meetings with this face. The one that didn't belong to her. </i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Laughed At Fate And Mourned Her

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** Not my characters. This has been a disclaimer.
> 
> **AN:** So, because I don't sleep much and have way too much time on my hands I came up with a theory on why River looked shocked that the Tenth Doctor didn't know her in SITL/FOTD. I mean of course it would be hard because she knew this day was going to come but what if it was more than that. Maybe she was so taken aback because Asgard wasn't their only meeting and the Tenth Doctor warmed to her in a way the one in the Library didn't. Then this... evolved. 
> 
>  The first three meetings are told in River's POV which is all back to front. In her order the meetings happen _from_ Asgard _to_ the Library. 
> 
> The last meeting is told in the Tenth Doctor’s POV. And just in case, a warning for spoilers for the 50th special TDOTD). 
> 
> To be clear, I am in NO WAY convinced I've pulled this off. For specific timing see end of notes.

 

 

_**We Laughed At Fate And Mourned Her** _

 

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

Asgard hadn’t been their only meeting prior the Library. There had been other meetings with this face. The one that didn't belong to her. If she'd added them up there were three meeting that had occurred from Asgard to the Library, one of them being Asgard. The three meetings that had made His First so terribly painful to bear.

Asgard, she would soon find, was the only meeting he'd have any recollection of and only vague recollections at that.

 

* * *

 

 

**I** : _Asgard_

The recognition she was met with in Asgard had been the most pleasant of the three. River had been spreading out a picnic for Her Doctor. She knew it wasn't likely. The kiss they'd shared after America had been his First and she knew that meant it would be her Last. Their last run in had been on Demon’s Run where he finally found out who she really was. She still held hope that maybe, just this once, a miracle would somehow be possible for them. If she believed hard enough perhaps the universe would give her what she wished for. She'd wished it upon a star and everything.

The weather in Asgard was said to be tame for the next few hours of the day and so she put on an almost too pristine white sundress. It was a bit daring for Asgard but she didn’t care. If it rained, it poured, so what? Meeting Her Doctor would be worth it. She’d sent out a message to his psychic paper, packed, threw on a light sweater and set out for a picnic at Asgard.

"You really are stalking me now, aren't you?" Was the first thing he'd said, his voice unrecognizable to her and face just as unknown. She knows _young_ would the precise wording for it. For this face. His suit was a bit tight fitted and he was all limbs and sandshoes and crazy hair. He had a twinkle in his eye though and that was telling enough for her.

"Doctor." she acknowledged, her voice sounding less steady than she'd intended it to. It made the warmth of his smirk disappear instantly.

"Oh," his hand reached to scratch at the back of his neck and he winced. "First time for you, eh? Back to front you said, over at th-"

"Oh, no, no, _no_." River held up her hand, a gesture for him to stop whatever he was about to say. "Don't you dare say another word."

He blinked, mouth still hanging agape from where she'd cut him off.

"Spoilers." she explained.

He was nodding then. "Right, right. Sorry. Still getting used to this... timey-wimey business of ours. Sorry."

"It's fine." she assured him. His eyes remained focused on her and it started to make her feel self-conscious. This face was speculating her with a familiarity that felt foreign and that did not happen often. She hadn’t prepared for this face to show up. It was frustrating that she found herself unable to read this face like his other one.

She realized he was still standing there awkwardly, waiting for an invitation to join her. She patted her hand on the blanket and he exhaled in relief, sitting himself down beside her. She expected him to scoot away, to prefer keeping some personal space boundary of sorts, but he did no such thing. He sat so close that his arm leaned into hers without much a bother. He seemed to rather like the close proximity actually.

Again, so very unexpected this early on. She's starting to regret not letting him finish his sentence a few moments ago. She could use a spoiler or two just to get a surer footing on the situation.

River busied herself with taking the food she'd packed out of the picnic basket and laying them out before them, very aware of his eyes watching her with the intensity of Her Doctor's gaze. When she'd finished spreading out the food she realized his preferences might be the complete opposite of her bowtie wearing madman.

"I, erm," she pursed her lips. "I packed for... well, if you don't like anything here I can go find you something. It will only take a second or two and you'll hardly miss me so if you'd like I can…"

She cut off unexpectedly because he’d reached out, taking her hand in his and holding it delicately as if any wrong move would have her making a run for it.

"River." he spoke so softly that she had to look up at him. Face him. "Relax." he told her. "So long as there are no pears I'm fine and dandy."

Her lips curled upward and her palm felt warm in his own. She thinks if her hearts beat any faster they'll start to pop out of her chest like some ridiculous cartoon character.

The following hour proved to be on their side, not a drop of rain in sight. They spent it conversing steadily with no pause or hesitation on his end. His voice was soft and his smiles were genuine. Her nerves had been a bundle of anxieties and she had been so unsure at first but as time passed she grew more comfortable with his company. The anxiety soon turned into lovely little butterfly fluttering’s in her stomach. He’d even made her blush as if she were some sort of maiden and he were courting for her affections. Unexpected, indeed. Lovely nonetheless.

Dark and dusty clouds soon spread across the sky, marking an end to the picnic lest they wanted to get drenched with impending rain. Asgard was Asgard after all, named after one of the most well-known Gods in Norse Mythology, with the films made on Earth becoming so beloved and all. The planet's main energy functioned strictly on lighting and thunder and rain so it made sense to name the planet as it was.

"Thor certainly finds it flattering." the Doctor had mentioned when the lightening started picking up and he helped River gather all she had brought.

River chuckled, "It's a miracle humans haven't noticed when he makes his yearly trips to Earth."

"Oh, you know humans." the Doctor grinned. "Your kind wouldn't know what to do if they found out some supposedly mythical God was real and walking alongside them every once in a blue moon."

_Your kind._ River didn't bother correcting him. Spoilers, after all.

"The films discredited him a bit. They make it more probable that he’s actually fictional, which works for him I suppose. The debate is one of those dull and endless never coming to an agreement sort of thing. A bit like the whole Does God Really Exist discussions. No solid proof and yet therein survives the endless theorists."

"Oh, hush." she handed the blanket over to him. "No need to let the cat out of the bag about religion as well. Some people need to believe in something better, greater. Hope is all they have. If religion can give them that then we shouldn't take it from them."

The Doctor wrinkled his nose like he'd caught whiff of something foul. "Even if it's not real?"

"It gives people hope when they want to give up." River said simply. "Is that not real enough for you?"

The Doctor looked up to the sky when the thunder struck so forcefully the very ground they stood upon rumbled beneath them. Many droplets started to fall from the sky, some as big as an entire puddle.

"Alright." the Doctor grinned at her widely and offered his hand. "Time to run now I think."

And so they did.

By the time they caught sight of the Tardis their clothes were absolutely soaked. The doors opened at the snap of his fingers and she wonders if she’d taught him that or if he'd always known.

They were breathless and giggling stupidly once safely inside. Their laughter subsided eventually and only then did they take notice to how snuggly their clothes stuck to their skin.

The Doctor cleared his throat. "I think you know your way around. You should get yourself into something warm so you won't catch a cold."

"I could say the same for you." River replied, the sudden burst of earlier anxieties taking a grip of her again.

Even if she couldn’t read this face she knew the true heart of him well enough so she didn’t miss the sudden change in him. The carefree persona that existed moments ago starts to slip away. In mere seconds he looks so much older to her eyes.

It occurred to her then that there hadn't been a loud and utterly brilliant red head at his side. Everything started to join together in pieces. The look on his face was tired and far past weary. She imagines he'd not lost Donna recently, no, but he'd still lost her. He looked so much further along than that specific happening in his timeline. She'd even be willing to bet that he'd done [Mars](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Waters_of_Mars_\(TV_story\)) already, the rewriting of [Bowie Base One and Adelaide Brooke](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Bowie_Base_One), but she didn't dare ask. It's a wonder how he's kept up the carefree facade for this long. For her, all for her.

He hadn't taken his eyes off of her while she'd been making her assessment. He's staring, waiting. He wants to know if she can see it without him having to tell her.

Of course she knows. She always knows.

"Have you ever seen the Phosphorus Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestalt?" River asked.

"Nope." His pronunciation of _P_ made a popping sound and she couldn't help the fond smile that spread across her face.

"You should buy a Stetson." she told him.

His brow furrowed. "A Stetson?"

River nodded, offering no further explanation.

"Well." He inhaled sharply. "Didn't expect that. The next thing you'll be telling me to get is a lei."

River bit her lip. "A nice pink one will do you good. It'll add color."

The Doctor raised an unimpressed brow at her suggestion.

"My coloring is fine," he assured, his tone proving he'd taken slight offense to that comment. "Thank you very much."

River shrugged. "I wouldn't quite know about _that_."

River lowered her gaze from his face down to his still soaked through trousers that clung so very snuggly to him, fitted like a second skin.

"Yet." she added, just for the fun of it.

The entire length of his body gave an obvious twitch under her shameless scrutiny and she nearly laughed out loud. Very, _very_ nearly.

He quickly moved his hands to cover up his _bits._ In this lighting she can't see much but she has always had a special talent of knowing when he's blushing without need for proof and he most certainly is blushing now.

"Rude!" he squeaked, voice a pitch higher than it had been.

"True." River frowned. "Let's make it even then."

She was still holding the picnic basket to her chest and so she sets it down.

She took one too many steps forward until she was practically lined up to his body though she was careful to make no contact She decided teasing was fine but she wouldn't cross that line, not with this face. Far too early for any of that.

She knew the sight of her would be all sorts of revealing given her dress being in its current state. It would be clinging to her every curve and leaving nothing to the imagination. It’s what he’d need. A distraction.

The Doctor's face had hardened significantly but not in anger, in annoyance. His eyes no longer shined at her full of pain and loss, instead they were wide and incredulous. His attention was unyielding as he stared upon her face with determination. She knew it was most likely the effects of whatever battle he was fighting in that far too wound up brain of his.

She sees how his eyes want to wander and glimpse as she'd done to him but he was so bloody noble sometimes she just wants to slap him for it. Whatever battle he's been raging at is decided when he exhales. His jaw relaxes and shoulders lose their stiffness. They sag and she can see the relief it's given him. He blinks twice and swallows before he lets himself look down. He takes long enough, his eyes lingering over her figure and she can only conclude he's appreciative of what he sees. She gets her answer when his eyes meet her own again.

He says her name, a strangled whisper that's seemingly clawed its way out of his throat. It’s almost as if he's scared to speak it.

"Hush now." she says and all the color drains from his face. Her hands cup his cheeks tenderly and he lets her. She looks deep into his eyes, past his face and into the old broken soldier he hides inside. "You are going to get warmed up and you are going to sleep. You rest now, run later."

He shuts his eyes and she kisses both his eyelids.

_Rest now, my warrior._

He won’t cry. Not here, not with her. She’d best leave him to it.

"I need to get going now."

The Doctor simply nods, too tired to make any protests or even ask her how she'd get home or ask wherever it is that she calls home.

River picks up her picnic basket and the blanket she’d brought. She takes one last look at him when she reaches the Tardis doors.

"Phosphorus Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestalt." she reminded.

"Stetson and lei." He sighed. "Got it."

"Until next time, sweetie."

"Goodbye River."

 

* * *

 

 

**II** : _But We Had The Best Of Times_

Several months pass before she sees him again. There had been no correspondence since Asgard and she’d been far too busy with her new position teaching archeology to be miffed over the lack of communication. A picnic hardly meant he was required to check in and call back. He was young and had a different face. That alone reminded her that he wasn’t Her Husband, not yet, and so she couldn’t hold that against him. If she were younger she’d be making a fuss over it alright. Her rage and insecurities spread through the air like fire in her youth. She just couldn’t come to grips with the _how_ and the _why_ he’d ever place such a deep affection on the likes of her. The woman who had killed him. All he ever saw was the woman who married him.

_And you are forgiven._ He’d said. _Always and completely forgiven._

He proved his forgiveness to be true a hundred times over by actions rather than words. It’s not that he couldn’t find the words. In any other subject you couldn’t get him to shut up but this sort of thing, these specific set of words, weren’t the same as the others.

“It’s different with you, River.” He’d confessed to her one night. “It’s not like it is with Amy or Rory. The way I…”

And his silence stretched on until he finally got over himself and continued.

“The way I love you is different. It’s hard, always hard, to get it out just right. I’m afraid I never will. Nothing will ever do justice to explain what it is I feel for you.”

Through the years spent with him, Her Husband, she learned to hear the words within a look or in the simplest of touches. She heard it when he suggested she fly the Tardis to their next destination or when his hand searched for hers as they ran for their lives. She heard it on those rare evenings spent indoors, the nights of domestic bliss, where she cooked dinner and then they’d curl up on the couch to watch something rubbish on the telly.

So many _I love yous_ spoken by actions rather than words.

She was grading papers in bed when he showed up. All of the test packets spread out on her bed sorted by different classes so she could go through them one by one in the right order. Then the wind picked up around her bedroom and the papers flew in all directions. The three hours spent organizing them completely ruined. And he’d left the damned brakes on too.

She meant to get up and march over angrily to the Tardis doors but they were pulled open before she got the chance to stand up.

Out he came. His suit was soaked through and his eyes were puffy and red. Any anger she’d felt moments ago lost any matter. She rushed to his side and for the first time in so long she disregarded the rules.

“What happened?” she demanded.

“She was going to be with me forever.” The Doctor shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’d have let her too. I’d let her because I’d rather spend every day she breathes with her at my side than to let her go.”

His smile trembled and his eyes welled with tears.

“She didn’t have to be the Doctor Donna. I just wanted her as Donna.”

“Oh, my love.”

River took him into her arms without a second thought and he latched onto her, giving out and giving in.

They ended up a joined pile on the floor, his arms wrapped around her waist as he cried on her shoulder. She ran her fingers through his hair and told him things she knew would be considered dangerous to speak of. They weren't exactly outright spoilers but the glimpses she implied could make a ruin of them. She didn’t care. This was entirely too much weight for him to bear alone.

“How do you do it, River?” His words were muffled, spoken into her neck sounding small and broken. “How do you carry us, carry me? How are you not scared to death by any of this?”

“I am scared.” She confessed. “I’m always scared. You and I both know better though. You never run when you’re scared. The moments where you feel scared are usually the ones you are meant to conquer. I carry you because you carried me. We carry each other.”

_It’s what man and wife do._ She doesn’t say it, but she thinks it. _Till death do us part_

  

* * *

 

 

**III** : _The Next Chapter's This Way_

She’d come to the planet [Midnight](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Midnight) intent on smuggling out a specific little trinket that had been found in the crystal ravine only days earlier. They’d named it the _White Sapphire_ since it had been located in the vicinity of Sapphire Waterfalls. River’s instincts had kicked in upon hearing of it and something inside her knew better than to simply ignore them. She knew it never did any good to rely on talks and gossip. She decided the only way to settle this feeling would be to go take a look for herself.

On her way to Midnight her thoughts drifted. She’d been working on something big. Something that had begun all the way back to her days as a student in Luna University when she’d wrote a paper on the Doctor. Her curiosity called for her to continue looking into it even after she’d aced the class. Only when she was fully a Professor was she able to do proper digging on the last days of Gallifrey. She’d had her suspicions, her theories, but it was the _White Sapphire_ that the planet of Midnight produced that finally made her sure.

She’d broken into the main vault without incident. Either they had lousy guards or she really had become the thief she’d always dreamed she’d be. She took one look upon the object she’d set upon stealing and smiled.

“White Sapphire.” River marveled, picking up the tiny diamond and setting it on her palm. “You poor thing. Doesn’t anyone know a [White Point Star](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/White-Point_Star) when they see one anymore?”

Just at that moment doors sprung open, guards and guns and the shouting and the running. The day was proving to be more fun than she’d expected. It was amidst her thieving that she ran into him.

It would have been funny really. Him hanging up a telephone with a big fat pout on his lips, too wrapped up in his thoughts to be paying attention to his surroundings, and her in such a hurry she completely failed to keep her eyes to her front. They’d bumped into each other face first and then toppled onto the ground. She’d landed on top of him much like she had with Her Doctor when she jumped out of a spaceship. Her idiot husband had been all baby-faced then and accompanied by her mother who never, ever changed. Amy was Amy and it was so lovely. The both of them off on the first of what would become several lifetimes’ worth of adventures.

“River?”

Ah, that’s the first thing that came out of his Eleventh’s self as well.

“Doctor,” River acknowledged, quickly moving to stand. He did the same. Loud shouting could be heard in the distance. Oh, how she really wished she’d not run into him like this. Sneaking something off in a _less legal_ and _more stealing_ type of sense. She did not need someone else there who’d only be eyeing her disapprovingly the entirety of her stay.

“Would you terribly mind running now?” she asked politely but left no time for him to retort. She took off quickly and hoped he’d follow. Follow he did but his heart really wasn’t into it. Too slow and she couldn’t afford that. She needed to slip out of sight _now_.

“Faster please, sweetie.” She called back to him. “I don’t want to die any time soon.”

Suddenly, out of nowhere, his hand is grasping for hers and then he’s the one leaving her to follow after him. Oh, how she loved this part. They did this the best. The running. With Her Doctor it was always one trying to outrun the other, show offs is what they were. Apparently that trait is one this face has too. She puts her all into it and when they do stop she’s the one who gets there first.

They’ve ducked into a marble temple by the looks of it. The high walls and stone steps that are probably meant for kneeling give it away. The building is all in white, the epitome of what could be considered immaculate glory. If it is a place of sanctuary like she assumes then they’ll be more than safe here.

“I win.” She says and it sounds terrible to her ears. It’s all raspy horridness.

She’s out of breath, they both are, but she gives in before he does and settles herself down onto the marble floor. She lies down and lets her limbs spread out as they like. A few bones pop as she stretches.

“River.” His voice echoed in the room and she blinked up at him.

“Yes, dear?”

“What are you doing here?” He snarled.

Looking at him properly now she realized how close she must be getting to the worst of her days. She also remembered the Gallifreyan diamond currently in her possession. If he somehow caught sight of it there’s no way she was explaining herself out of that one.

River sat up quickly and got back to her feet. “Thank you for today, my love. I’d best be going now.”

But he caught her arm before she could walk past him. His hold was tight and it felt like a punishment of some kind. She has the most unbelievable urge to ask him just exactly where he’d been up until this point in their timelines but knows better than to lend her voice to such a thing. Damned spoilers.

“Doctor,” River said calmly. “That’s starting to hurt.”

He let her go with a scowl and quickly turned away, pacing angrily.

“What are you doing _here_?” He demands.

“What are you doing here?” She says back.

He looks back at her, eyes cold and accusing. He looks at her like a haunted man would.

“I’m on vacation.” He states.

She chuckles. “Trouble is just around the corner then.”

“I seem to be looking at it.”

That tone strips her of any further amusement. The Doctor shakes his head and runs his hand over his face before apologizing.

“I don’t mean to take it out on you.” He confessed. “It’s not your fault.”

She knows that line far too intimately and does what she’s always done when he gets like this. Her voice is clear and resolute when she tells him, “Whatever it is, it’s not your fault either.”

The laugh he lets out is an ugly one and she feels a very real chill go down her spine. She doesn’t want to leave him like this, all alone.

“Are you on vacation alone?” she inquires.

The Doctor takes a deep breath. “Came with Donna but all she seems to want to do is lay back in a spa all day.”

River silently thanks whoever is responsible for timing because Donna is an anchor for him that no one else will ever be. His clever redhead will sort him out because she’s not the one he turns to. This face is still very unused to her presence and she knows with a certainty he’d not even allow her to try to help him.

Of course, the last meeting he had allowed it. The last time she’d seen him was different. He’d allowed her because he literally didn’t have anyone else with him anymore. She was his only confidant and she took him in with open arms. She always would.

The realization hits her with a force that could be compared to a Dalek firing for extermination.

_Midnight._

_Vacation._

_Missus Sky Sylvestry._

He would be completely unhinged by the time he returned from that shuttle bus.

Her Doctor had retold of this very trip. It had completely slipped her mind when she made plans to come to Midnight. She’d been so set on retrieving what she knew would be no sapphire that she’d been senseless enough to forgo checking the dates properly. It had been decided very early on in their relationship that they would avidly avoid coinciding during major courses that would shape their timelines.

“I really am sorry, River. I’m so sorry.” Tears were shining in his eyes and she wanted nothing more than to go to him, comfort him.

He apologized once more before turning around and walking away.

“I’m sorry too, my love.” She said quietly. Words he needed today more than any day and yet he’s chosen to walk away so he’ll never get to hear them.

When River gets back home she gets straight to work. The diamond is most definitely a White-Point Star and it’s fresh from Gallifrey. Her theories were right all along. Gallifrey didn’t fall.

Before she could even start to gather all she’d found with her intent to get this information to Her Doctor somehow her phone rang. It was Strackman Lux on the other end asking where the hell she was.

“The expedition is taking off in the next hour, Professor Song.”

_The Library._ She’d been so wrapped up in her activities that she’d forgotten of her duties.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Lux. Family matters arose very unexpectedly.” She lied. “I’m just barely getting myself together.”

“If you are to lead us there you’d best find a way to get here and I mean now!”

Then he’d hung up on her.

“What an infuriating man.” She muttered with a grimace.

River took one more look at all the information she’d gathered throughout her years. She finally had a tiny glimmer of what could turn into the absolute proof of Gallifrey still being out there somewhere.

She groaned irritably. It would have to wait until she got back from the expedition. She’d find a way to get it to Her Husband then. The Lux family had sealed off the Library for the last hundred years and she was not going to miss finding out why. She wishes she hadn’t. If she’s honest, she hadn’t died climbing into the chair for him and saving all those lives, saving him. She’d died when the words she’d dreaded all this time finally came out.

_Who are you?_

 

* * *

 

 

**IV** : _We Need A New Destination_

He’s sort of accidentally and very non-intentionally proposed to Queen Elizabeth the first. The face of his future popping in with a chin and a fez was even less expected. But then the face they never wanted to acknowledge showed up and it was honestly the most excitement he’d seen in a while. It was pleasant and more than welcomed.

The only place he’d felt more alive and less guilt written had taken place with River and their picnic at Asgard. In those few hours spent with her he’d genuinely become a better version of himself given what he’d done and what he’d been through.

He and the other two of him got on pretty well actually. Chinny proved to be alright in the long run and together the three of them saved their home and their people.

It occurs to him there, in the gallery, standing beside Clara, Chinny, and Grandad, that he won't remember any of this. He then wonders exactly how much would be erased from his memory and how far back it will go. How much will he be able to remember exactly? Granddad also seemed to be having that same notion running through his mind.

"I won't remember this, will I?" the eldest looking of them asked.

"The time streams are out of sync." his Eleventh said. "You can't retain it, no."

Granddad mulled over that fact aloud before jokingly asking which Tardis was his and sauntering away a bit lighter than before. The knowledge of saving Gallifrey was to be enjoyed for the time being, while they still remembered.

“I won’t remember either, so you might as well tell me.”

“Tell you what?” A certain look passed across Chinny’s face along with his question.

If he knew himself correctly, which he _did_ , he imagines Chinny expects answers about River. To find out who this woman would be to him but Chinny should really know himself better by now. The second she whispered his name into his ear he’d known. There was no denying it after that, no use trying to.

_My wife. This woman is to be my wife._

And then death did them part.

“Where it is we're going that you don't want to talk about.”

The tension in his Eleventh shifted over to a different kind. Chinny gave him the honest truth. They’d be heading to Trenzalore and that’s where their story ends. He was to die in battle, finally turning into the soldier he never wished to be.

He decides he’ll try to hide the damage. Put on a brave face because they did just save Gallifrey so the day deserves a bit of pride. He takes on a smile and plays the part of a flippant optimist.

He tells Chinny that he now knows his future is in safe hands and that it’s strictly because of Clara, who is sensational by the way.

He finds himself wanting to try some more with this face. To try and get past his losses and perhaps have River be a part of his life some more before the inevitable happens and he becomes all bowties and no eyebrows.

“We need a new destination,” he adds. “Because I don’t want to go.”

He means it too.

Once he’s back in his Tardis he thinks on taking up River’s suggestion in Asgard but then something peculiar happens. He feels something slipping from his grasp and rearranging itself. He shakes his head in hopes to get it to go away.

He blinks. He forgets.

Moments later he’s standing at the console and doesn’t know why this odd feeling arises in him. He's supposed to be somewhere but he can’t recall the reason why. His body reacts before his mind does, setting coordinates on instinct. He ponders the oddness of it but shrugs it off, stepping outside of the Tardis to see where he’s landed.

The name comes to mind automatically.

“Phosphorus Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestalt!”

He buys [a Stetson and a pink lei](http://i1342.photobucket.com/albums/o777/youlooklikethunder/550w_cult_doctor_who_end_of_time_3_zpsfc709233.jpg) and is enjoying his stay so much that he decides to make a vacation out of it. Why not?.

He gets summoned a few days later and finds Ood Sigma has been waiting for his arrival.

The Master is alive.

The end of time itself.

He will knock four times.

**Author's Note:**

>  _Timeline of River's 3 meetings_  
>  **I :** [(Asgard)](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Asgard) for the Doctor is right after [Waters of Mars](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Waters_of_Mars_\(TV_story\)), before [The Day Of The Doctor](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Doctor_\(TV_story\))  
>  **II :** This takes place right after the Doctor erases Donna's memories in [Journey's End.](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Journey's_End_\(TV_story\))  
>  **III :** This takes place after the Library for the Doctor, right at the beginning of the episode [Midnight](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Midnight_\(TV_story\)) before he boards the shuttle bus and, yes, River works out Gallifrey is still out there right before heading to the Library, which gives her no chance to tell Her Doctor about it.
> 
> _The last meeting in the Doctor's POV_  
>  **IV :** This takes place at the end of [The Day Of The Doctor](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Doctor_\(TV_story\)) but before [The End Of Time](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_End_of_Time_\(TV_story\)). Along with the knowledge of saving Gallifrey he also loses all other recollections of River except the Library and Asgard (his memories of the picnic end up blurry at best).


End file.
